What Happens After
by thatswhatuget
Summary: This is my story of what I think would happen after those last 4 words. I'm trying to keep it as realistic as possible, to what I see could be one of a few actual scenarios that would happen if they really did continue on with it. A story to give closure to the ending we didn't get. Team Logan, so will be a bit biased towards Rogan.


_A/N: So this is my first time really writing a fanfiction (unless I count that time years ago where I wrote Paramore fanfic, but that's pretty different then writing about a tv show and characters, so I don't count it). Like a lot of us Gilmore Girls fans, I didn't get the closure I was needing at the end of A Year In The Life, in fact, I really haven't been able to think of much else. I just had a lot more questions, and needed to know what happens next. So of course I turned here. While I did enjoy reading some of the fanfics, they weren't exactly what I was looking for, and I realized thats because I had my own story that had been swirling in my mind since I finished watching, so I decided to write it. This story is going to be what I believe would be a realistic continuing on of the show after those last four words. I had a couple different scenarios I could see playing out, but this is the one I believe makes the most sense with how the show ended and with where the characters are and who they are. I will admit, I am Team Logan, but while I do want them to have a happy ending (which they obviously didn't get by the end of Fall)I'm going to try my best to be truthful to the characters and their mentalities, so while I'm pretty sure they'll get a happy ending by the end of this, I'm going to see where the story takes me, and that might not be the picture perfect happiness all us Rogan shippers want them to have. But we'll see where it goes! I hope you guys enjoy, and that this story can bring you a little bit of closure and peace with the show, like I think it will bring me from writing it._

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

"Mom?"

"Yeah"

"I'm pregnant."

Lorelai looked at Rory with shock. "What?" she asked.

Rory took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant," she said with a slight waver to her voice.

Lorelai just kept looking at Rory with shock. "You're pregnant? Like with a baby pregnant? Like, a baby is growing inside your stomach right this moment? You have a little alien creature inside you right now sucking all your food and nutrients away?"

Rory sighed exasperatedly. "Yes mom, pregnant with a baby pregnant. As far as I know, you can't be pregnant with anything else."

"Oh-ha-ho, not true. I've had many a time where I had a food baby growing inside me. One time, after I had eaten so many crab puffs at one of grandma's parties in an attempt to not have to talk to all the insufferable people there, it felt like I would be giving birth to a crab puff shaped baby looking thing in the near future."

"Mom!" Rory shouted. "Can you be serious for one minute, please?"

"Sorry, just trying to process this kid, and you know I revert to witty and funny anecdotes when I'm in shock."

"I know, and trust me, I'm still trying to process this too," Rory said with a sigh.

Lorelai and Rory were silent for a moment, and both looked out over the town of Stars Hollow as it slowly started waking up for the day.

Lorelai turned back to Rory. "When did you find out?" she asked.

"Just a few days ago," Rory answered.

"And you're only telling me now? Why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out?" Lorelai almost shouted at Rory.

Rory looked at her mom skeptically. "Mom, come on. You were just about to get married, and were in the throes of getting all the last minute details for the wedding ready. I didn't want to stress you out and add complications, and you were just so happy, and you and Luke have waited _so_ long for this, I didn't want to tarnish that in anyway. I would've waited to tell you about it till you and Luke came back from your honeymoon, but I just couldn't hold it in any longer. I couldn't even hold it in till after the second ceremony and reception today, so I _still_ ruined your wedding day!" Rory exclaimed, having worked herself up now and on the verge of tears.

"Hey, _hey_ ," Lorelai looked into her beautiful daughter's shining eyes, "you did _not_ , ruin my wedding day. You hear me? You didn't ruin it. You could never ruin it, especially with news of a pregnancy. Been there, done it, and I was 16 kid. Besides, my real wedding was last night," she gave Rory a small smile.

Rory laughed slightly, wiping away a small tear that had escaped her eye. "Thanks."

"So...pregnant. Wow, kid. Wow. WOW!"

"Is that really all you can say?" Rory asked.

"Hello, still processing here," Lorelai remarked.

"Right."

Lorelai took a breath. She didn't want to ask without Rory volunteering the information, but she had to know. "It's Logan's, isn't it?" Lorelai asked gently.

Rory looked away. Hearing Logan's name brought up all the memories from that last night they shared together. Him surprising her with an elaborate Life and Death Brigade soiree, and flying all the way from London just to cheer her up for a night, and even recruiting Finn, Colin, and Robert to help out. Then bringing her to that beautiful Inn in New Hampshire where they made love; passionate, intimate, beautiful, wonderful love together into the night. Falling asleep in each other's arms, with the morning coming way too fast. That last goodbye, that final kiss, that last look they both gave each other before parting ways. They had never said I love you, but they knew that's how they both felt. Rory wished as soon as he left that she had told him, told him how much she loved him, how she had never truly stopped loving him. But she knew she couldn't, not with him getting married to another woman. Not when he had his whole life and career going for him. She couldn't screw that up for him, not when she had already had her chance and turned him down. Not after she had broken his heart and he had picked up the pieces, and completely turned his life around and was doing so well for himself. She couldn't, she wouldn't. It was bad enough that they were cheating together, even if he was only marrying Odette because that was the family plan, he was still cheating on a girl he was engaged to, with Rory. It had to stop; they had to stop. They couldn't keep continuing on like this. It had to end, and they had to say goodbye, as much as it killed Rory to do so, it was for the best.

But then...this happened. She got pregnant. She didn't know how, they were careful, they were always careful, but sometimes birth control wasn't enough. So, here she was. Alone, jobless, homeless, and pregnant with the baby of a man who was about to be married to another woman, who she was still in love with.

Tears started slipping down Rory's face. She couldn't think how things could be any worse.

Lorelai noticed, pulling Rory out of her reprieve. "Oh hun, come here," Lorelai said pulling Rory into her arms and cradling her head.

She couldn't hold it in anymore, she cried on her mother's shoulder.

"Shhh, shhh, it will all be ok. We'll get through this. Don't worry, we will figure it all out." Lorelai kept whispering consoling things into Rory's ear, rubbing her back and comforting her, as she cried on her shoulder.

After a few minutes, Rory collected herself and pulled out of her mom's arms. "Ok, I think I'm good."

"You'll have to get used to doing that a lot, pregnancy hormones and all; you'll be crying at everything," Lorelai tried to joke.

"Ugh, that's right! I'm already emotional enough, I don't need to be more emotional," Rory groaned.

"And if you're anything like me when I was pregnant with you, you'll start craving healthy food. No more late night cravings for Red Vines and Poptarts, all you'll be wanting are apples and celery."

"I've already started having cravings for apples! I've never craved an apple in my _life_ before , and now I'm sneaking out of my room in the middle of the night to grab one so you wouldn't get suspicious!" Rory cried.

"So, Luke wasn't crazy then. He kept saying that the apples seemed to be disappearing, and asked me if you or I had eaten any, to which I proceeded to laugh hysterically for a few minutes, and then reminded him who we are. He of course just grumbled that we were the unhealthiest people in the world and how it's a wonder of nature we aren't 300 pounds," Lorelai drifted off.

She could tell her daughter had tuned out about half way through, a million things on her mind. While she was caught up in her own thoughts, Lorelai just looked at Rory for a minute. Her incredibly smart and beautiful daughter, who was scared beyond measure for the uncertainty that was before her.

"Rory?"

"Yeah mom?" Rory turned back to Lorelai.

"I hate to bring it up again, but I need to know. I'm assuming, based off your reaction to me saying his name earlier, that you're pregnant with Logan's baby, right?" Lorelai cautiously asked.

Rory took in a shaky breath. "Yes."

"Have you told him yet?"

"No." Rory admitted.

"Well, when are you planning on telling him?" Lorelai wondered.

Rory paused, and looked down. "I'm not sure if I am."

Lorelai whipped her head around to Rory. "What do you mean you're not sure if you are? You're not sure if you're gonna tell Logan that you're pregnant?" Lorelai asked, anger starting to tinge her voice.

"I just don't know. I don't know if it's for the best...I don't know if I should. I think it might be better if he doesn't know," Rory meekly whispered out.

Lorelai was stunned. She took a minute to collect herself, then asked the one question that would make Rory's answer ok. "Are you going to have an abortion?"

Rory thought about the question for a minute. It had gone through her head when she found out, of course it had. How could it not when she was pregnant with the baby of an engaged man, who wasn't betrothed to her? While it wasn't anywhere close to being the situation she imagined having her first child in, Rory had to admit that she was getting older. If she wanted a child, and she did, how much more time did she have? She was already in her early 30's, and by this point in her life, she thought she would have a stable job, and if not already be married, be in a committed relationship. But she was nowhere near where she thought she would be at this point in her life. And if she kept waiting until all those things happened to have a kid, would it be too late?

And then there was the other reason holding her back from making that decision. She _did_ love Logan, and even though they weren't together, could she abort this baby, that was made out of love? She could already see the little boy or girl that was growing inside her with that blonde hair of his, and with that smile and dimples that disarmed her from the very first moment she met Logan. She couldn't help it, just thinking about chasing that beautiful little child around, it made her smile. She was already in love with the baby she was carrying, and she couldn't imagine terminating it. It wasn't the ideal situation to be in, but she felt ready to be a mom to this baby. If her mom could do it at 16, and with virtually no help, surely Rory could do it at 32. Besides, she had her mom and all these people around her who would help. She had Lane, Paris, Luke, and even Jess she knew would help her if she needed it. She could do this.

"No, I'm going to keep it," Rory said confidently.

Lorelai stood up in anger. "What the hell kid? I love you, you know I do, but what the hell are you thinking? I understand this isn't the best situation and you must be confused and overwhelmed, and have a million other emotions, but how could you even for a _second_ think of not telling him? Do you not remember what Luke went through with April? Were you not around for that? Did you just erase that from your mind? Because the Rory I know, after watching how much it devastated Luke to find out he had a daughter when she was 13 and realizing he never got the chance to be around for all her firsts and watching her grow up, _knowing_ how much that tore him up, and how guilty he felt about not being around for April, the Rory who witnessed all that, who witnessed how that broke me and Luke up, she would never, _never_ do that to someone! She would _never_ deprive the father the chance to be around and get to know his kid!" Lorelai shouted.

Rory jumped up to her feet. She never thought her mom would react like this, and now she was being attacked when she was going through the hardest thing in her life. She was hurt, and most of all mad that her mom thought this was at all easy for her.

"It's not that easy! Its nowhere near the same situation!" Rory yelled. "Luke wasn't engaged to another woman! Luke wasn't cheating on his fiancee with Anna who then got pregnant! Luke isn't the heir to a multi-billion dollar company! Luke wasn't marrying someone because that's what his family wanted, and what would make their empire more powerful, and what everyone knew was in their best interest! Luke didn't have a family who looked down on Anna, and thought she was inferior to them and wasn't good enough to be with their son! Anna wouldn't have been completely derailing Luke's life and potentially ruining his career and family by telling him she was pregnant with his child! Where _I_ will be doing just that! I'd be ruining his life, everything he's worked so hard for these past 10 years, all the mends he's made with his family, gone...because of me," Rory started to break down. "How can I do that to him?!" Rory sobbed in anguish.

Rory cried on the steps of the gazebo, looking around to see if anyone was up yet to witness this, which thankfully no one was. Not that she cared much anyways at this point, but it was better if the rumor mill that was Stars Hollow didn't get wind of this yet.

Lorelai was speechless, she didn't know what to say. So she did the only thing she could, she wrapped Rory in her arms again and held her to her chest. It hurt Lorelai to see her daughter in this much pain, in what should've been an incredibly happy moment for her. She shouldn't have had to feel the same things Lorelai did when she found out she was pregnant with Rory, it was supposed to be different for her.

A few minutes passed by while Rory cried her eyes out and sobbed, again, on her mom, before she could get a handle on herself.

When Lorelai noticed that Rory was coming out of it, she pulled back a bit so she could look her in the face. "Like I said before, we're gonna figure this out, we're going to get through this, together," Lorelai said with all the sincerity in the world.

Rory mustered up a small smile, "Ok."

Lorelai pulled Rory towards her and gave her a small kiss on the forehead, smoothed her hair back, and wiped away the one lone tear still on her cheek. They sat back down on the steps and looked out at the sunrise.

"Rory..."

"Yeah?"

"Why...why do you think telling him this would ruin his life?" Lorelai asked genuinely.

"What do you mean? How could it not ruin his life?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Well, from all you've told me, it sounds like he still loves you a lot Rory, and that his heart isn't in his upcoming marriage. So while this might not be the way he would've wanted everything to have played out, I don't think he would be mad or upset to find out you accidentally got pregnant, I think he'd be happy. If he loves you, he's going to love the baby that you two created. If Logan is still the man I knew him to be, the one who proposed to you and wanted to start a family with you 10 years ago, he's going to want to be with you and the baby. He'll break off his engagement, and be with you and be a father to your baby," Lorelai finished.

Rory sadly shook her head. "But that's the problem."

Lorelai looked at Rory puzzled, "I don't understand. Isn't that what you're worried about? That you'll tell him and he won't leave Odette and won't want to be part of the baby's life?"

Rory gave a slight laugh. "No, that's what I'm afraid he _will_ do. I know Logan. As soon as I tell him that I'm pregnant, he'll break it off with Odette, his father will flip out, and Logan will tell him he's leaving her and going to marry me and raise our child. His dad will give him an ultimatum, either stay and marry Odette, or marry me and be cut off and lose his inheritance and standing with the company. Logan will choose me, and lose everything. He'll marry me, and raise our child, but he'll grow to resent me. He'll hate that I took it all away from him, when he was finally getting along with his family, and learned to love the family business and be proud of it. And just because he loves me, doesn't mean he wants to marry me, but because I'm pregnant, he'll do the right thing, just like dad tried to do with you. How will I ever know if he would've wanted to marry me and leave Odette if it wasn't for this baby? How will I know this is what he truly wanted? I don't want him to leave and marry me just because I'm pregnant, I want him to do that because it's what _he_ wants to do."

"But how will you ever know if you don't at least tell him? Isn't it better to know, and not look back years from now and wonder if you made the right decision? Shouldn't it be his choice as well?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm prepared and ready to be a single mom. You did it, and I know we struggled, but I love the life you gave me, the life we had together. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Would it have been better if dad was more in the picture? Maybe, but it wouldn't have been the same. And even when I went and talked to dad the other day about it-" Rory was cut off before she could finish.

"Wait, you told your dad you were pregnant before telling me?" Lorelai choked.

"What? No, no! Mom I would never do that!" Rory proclaimed. Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't know what she would've done to find out that Rory went to her dad with this news before her.

"Then how were you asking him about all this?" Lorelai wondered.

"I told him it was for my book. And it is, partly, but I was mainly asking because of this. I wanted to know how he felt about you raising me on your own, and if he wished he had fought harder to have raised me with you, and to have been in my life more. He said it was in the cards, you and me. He said he thought it all happened exactly like it was supposed to, and that you'd back him up on that."

Lorelai smiled softly, "Oh Chris. He always knew." She paused, "He's right, I absolutely back him up."

"See? It was talking to dad that cemented it for me. Our relationship and life the way it was, it was always meant to be like this. And if I tell Logan, there's only one thing that's going to happen, and with the way everything is, it doesn't feel like it's supposed to be like that. I feel like I'm supposed to do this on my own, and that won't happen if I tell him, because it's not a choice for him. If I don't tell him, I don't have to make him choose, because it won't be a choice at all for him. So, I feel like doing this is for the best. It's better if he doesn't know, and goes on to marry Odette and keeps his life exactly the way it is. I won't be ruining it, and we'll manage without him. If the situation was different, then it would be another conversation. But it is the way it is, so this is how it has to be," Rory drifted off.

Lorelai sighed, "Oh hun, I'm sorry."

Rory nodded, "I know."

Lorelai picked up the glass of champagne she had completely forgotten about and finished it off. She stood up and offered her hand to Rory. Rory took it and pulled herself up. They looked at each other for a minute, then Lorelai put her arm around Rory.

"Well, we've got time to figure this all out. You don't have to make up your mind right away about what you want to do. You should spend some more time thinking about this, and not be rash about it. You've still got time. How far along are you?" Lorelai asked Rory.

"About a month. I haven't gone in for an ultrasound or anything yet, but I know I'm a month along," Rory replied.

Lorelai squeezed Rory's shoulder. "See? We've got time then, kid," Lorelai smiled gently at Rory. "Now, I still technically have a wedding this afternoon, even if I am already married." Lorelai looked down at her ring and smiled. "Why don't we go get some sleep? I mean, how are we going to eat all the food and cake if we're not well rested for it?" Lorelai teased.

Rory laughed heartily, the first time she had since finding out she was pregnant. "And I'm eating for two now, so if you want any of that cake, you better have some before I get my hands on it. I heard you picked the chocolate praline crunch, and you know how much I _love_ chocolate praline crunch," Rory sang.

The two looked at each other and smiled, then made their way down from the gazebo, arm and arm, back to the house. They would get through this, just like they did everything, together, and that's what made everything ok. Today, they would celebrate Luke and Lorelai's happy day, and tomorrow, they would tackle this, together.

* * *

 _I know that seems like the ending to a one shot, but I swear there will be more coming soon! Hopefully later this week, but might not be till the weekend. I hope you guys like it, and if you did, please leave a review letting me know what you thought, and if you have any constructive criticism. And thanks to my friend Gaby for being my beta for this!_


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